GREETINGS FROM BELGIUM (8/18/08)

" The food in Paris was not very good - except Joel Robuchon's - which is rather expensive. "

Thanks for taking time from your trip to share this amazing insight.

What does this mean, " . . . paying for the large water and getting the cheap" ? Why didn't you just ask for a carafe of water, that is, tap water? Usually when you are "taken advantage of" it is because you allow it to happen.

Also if "places are hard to find" it usually means you do not have a good enough map.

I agree Bruges is a stunning city. Loved it.

Wow- remind me not post anything when I take a trip. People are brutal. JB-I'm glad you are enjoying your trip- keep having fun!!

I'm going to hold you to that Kent. I leave September 11 and will PM you if I trouble with the food. lol

Well, we've had good and not-so-good food in Paris. I agree with Kent, though, in that our not-so-good food was because we just took our chances on a couple of places we knew nothing about. But that's part of travel -- you win some & some are not so great. But, hey, life is like that everywhere!

Sorry when I posted last my time was running short. Let me go back and explain myself.

1) Shorts were everywhere - I saw many french in bizzare swimsuit like shorts, as well as your normal shorts. I also saw many tourist with shorts and white sneakers :)

2) The food was not what we expected. As a cook who loves what 'we as Americans consider french food' I was not very impressed. We ate anywhere from 5euro sandwiches to a 145euro tasting menu @ joel robuchon. Everything seemed the same, steak frites, tartars, croques, etc. We weren't as excited about it. Robuchon was beyond amazing, extremely modern and great. The bistro's all seemed to mend together, and the brasseries all seemed the same - menu wise. Never did we have a rude server, nor a BAD MEAL but it was nothing spectacular. I truly believe that the American cooks perspective on French cuisine is not totaly accurate - what they eat everyday is not the same as what 'french restaurants'in America consider éveryday'- I feel comfortable saying this being that I want to own and operate a French Restaurant...plus we'd never have dogs in restaurants in America - health code wouldn't let that happen.

3) Locals were great actually. Nobody was rude, but many were short - which is understandable in a town filled with tourist. Most were actually gone on vacation - we saw more tourist than locals. It wasn't an issue, except most local joints were closed for August. The people in Bruges were the nicest people by far, I loved everything about them. It seemed they were actually excited for us to visit their town - on two occassions did a local lead us to where we were going.

5) I found the Arch de Triomphe to be one of the most beautiful spots in Paris. The view is stunning & The line was nonexistent. While crowded, we did not have to wait to walk up the 284stairs. The eiffel tower like peaked at 2-3 hours everytime we tried to go up.

next post...

Being a tourist...

Obviously we've all discussed the obvious - you are in THEIR country, and have to go by THEIR rules...but you are a tourist and you're not expected to know everything about Paris or wherever you visit. You look like a tourist, they can smell you it seems. Everytime we went to cafes, bistros, and brasseries they almost always spoke English to us immediately and @ Brasserie Balzar they asked us if we'd like English translations - other places they offered English menus, while some did not (i speak some French so it did not become a problem for us).

Wear what you want to wear - the people in Paris seemed to wear everything from a Lacoste swim outfit to Armani suits to jeans with holes and plain white t shirts. Just be comfortable, wear what pleases you, don't try and fit in just observe their customs, traditions, laws, and rules and you will have a rather enjoyable trip.

We loved Paris, we'll for sure return - however i'll be buying a house in Brugge when I can :)

Epernay was also the most beautiful town..the food was AMAZING. We had great meals down in the town center at Le Progress, the cafe on the circle. In Reims we stayed at Les Crayers (birthday present to my girlfriend) and had the tasting menu - haute French - AMAZING, STUNNING, BEAUTIFUL, BREATHTAKING - works of art for sure - great good, people, and service. We also toured a Champagne house (Pommery) which was neat too.

Notes about Brugge are simple: The people are awesome, so glad to help and we never encountered a bad place. Get the local 'tourist map' that can be gotten anywhere and take the advice on places to eat - THEY WERE ALL AWESOME. Brugge all around was amazing, I cannot wait to return.

We are in Amsterdam now, not soo crazy about it thus far, but we still have time. We made the choice to leave a night early and go to Salzburg and then its Munich (fussen), Interlaken, & Nice - then off to Florence for 18 weeks.

Sorry if I pissed anyone off. It'll be ok!

You actually saw someone, a Parisian, walking around in a bathing suit? He wasn't on Paris Plage? I hope you took a picture as he was being hustled into the van by the gendarmes.

JB, honey chile, you are from the State of SC and the lovely city of Charleston. Southern dining cannot be topped anywhere in the world IMHO. I go to the south to eat ----New Orleans, Charleston, or Savannah or some roadside bbq joint in NC. Of course you are going to be disappointed with Parisian food.

I love your travel summaries. Keep them coming for the next several months! :-)

Have fun!

We didn't have much luck with the food in Paris, either. Probably due to a lack of research (we thought we could find something based on walking around or the recommendation of the hotel clerk, neither of which produced anything useful).

However, we did have an excellent meal at a not-quite-"French"-restaurant called Hippopotamus. Apparently it's a french burger restaurant chain. My burger was one of the best I've had (it was the peppercorn) and easily bested the likes of Red Robin etc.

Ham and cheese crepes by the arc de triomphe made by the exhausted guy outside of devil's cafe were good, too.

Norma - yes i actually saw a french man walkin in a bathing suit - bright lime green to be exact with a nice lacoste alligator on it. I did not snap a photo of him but could not help but to laugh out loud, regarldess of being in paris or being in the states he looked absurd.

Unfortnately im not from charleston, i only live there to go to school - funnz thing is, my favorite restaurant there is 39 rue de Jean, what the call a traditional french brasserie....then to come to Paris and eat at one, i was a little disapointed. not to say it wasnt good but it was definitelz unlike rue de jean, who claims to be as authentic as it gets.

oh well...we are in Salzburg today, weather isnt so great but it hasnt stopped us. we came into an internet cafe for an hour to get out of the rain and rest our feet. sound of music tour tomorrow, then its off to munich in the afternoon.

JB,
I love your post and hearing about your travels. I'm glad you are having a good time, I wish I was there too. Lucky you! Keep us posted.